I caught the writing bug later in life. It stems from my love of reading. As a child, my interests gravitated toward music and art. I spent hours either learning new songs on guitar or drawing and sketching on my art pad. I enjoyed playing outside and having fun with my friends, but I could be just as happy sitting for hours quietly by myself reading a book.

Pinterest (pinerest.com) is a social media drawing lots of interest these days. What’s not to like? A simple photo on Pinterest shares a recipe, home décor, unusual construction and much more.

It’s more visual than other social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but each photo is packed with information. It dawned on me as I was pinning an article about editing today on the TSTC Publishing’s boards and thought new editorial interns might benefit from the editing tips.

In the past, I would attempt to email the article to those to whom I wanted to see it. I would search for individual email addresses before grouping them and sending out the article. Now, with one click of my mouse, the article is pinned for all to see.

Now I understand why a young adult told me recently that email was old-fashioned. I explained my generation embraced email because it was so much faster than typing, printing and then putting it in an envelope to be sent interoffice or through the U.S. Postal Service. New mediums are making communication even faster, with maybe the exception (for me) of texting. That mode has done more to butcher the language than any one singular thing I can think of.

But back to Pinterest. It’s fun, easy and educational. A few months before Easter, I came across a pin with colored deviled eggs. When Easter dawned, so did several photos of colored deviled eggs on Facebook. It seems many of my friends tried the recipe (all you do is click on the original pin to link back to the recipe) and then took pictures and posted their creations on Facebook. Once upon a time, no one wanted to be a copycat, but now we find “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

TSTC Publishing created a Pinterest account and boasts more than 20 boards, full of pins. Others can repin on our boards, and it’s interesting to note that two of my male colleagues are the most frequent contributors. One of them also drew attention when seminar participants were asked if they knew about Pinterest. He was the only male but was quite proud to stand with Pinterest users. His boards include ones on vintage vehicles, beers, surfing, home garden and patio. In his words, “Pinterest is the crack of social media.”

For those of you not familiar with Pinterest, find a friend who already does Pinterest and ask them to invite you (Pinterest is invitation-only). Then, start looking at other’s boards. When something catches your eye, click on the photo to repin it to your own Pinterest. Create your boards along the way.

Jello Cookies

Fair warning: Pinterest is addictive. I usually reserve 15 minutes at the end of the day to “work our boards.” If I were to start the day with Pinterest, my other social media projects would suffer, I’m sure.

Now, I’ve got to go because I want to try a new recipe I just saw on Pinterest. JELL-O Cookies. I’m guessing they will be just as popular as colored deviled eggs.

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“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”

— C.S. Lewis

Reading always has been one of my greatest pleasures. More often than not, I find myself in a crowded room of chatting people, completely lost in a book and ignorant to almost all ongoing conversation. It is always in these moments I can expect to be asked what I am reading and for my cheeks to redden, as my response lets everyone know I am obsessed with children’s literature.

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Did you get an e-reader as a holiday gift? I know I was excited as I opened a Kindle Fire Christmas morning. I reluctantly set it aside, though, to prepare dinner for guests. It wasn’t until the following evening that I escaped, my new e-reader tucked under my arm. For the next several hours, I downloaded my favorite apps.

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As the busy holiday season descends upon us, I breathe deeply and sigh, “If only we had a week that all we did was catch up!”

Oops! I just remembered one more thing I should have done three days ago. That was Tuesday, though, and Editor Ana Wraight and I were busy critiquing portfolios of advanced public relations students at Baylor University. This was Ana’s first time and my fourth or fifth time to accept Dr. Cassy Burleson’s invitation to critique professional portfolios. Continue reading →